Public Services for Urban Poor-Report Card on Three Indian Cities

Report Card on Three Indian Cities Samuel Paul THERE is an abundance of studies on India's poverty alleviation programmes Not much is known, however, about how the poor have benefited from the public services that government has provided both in urban and rural areas.' Some of the services are infrastruciural and others entail basic civic amenities. In general, these services impact directly on the productivity of the poor and on their ability to take advantage of economic opportunities. Over the years, government has invested heavily in a variety of public service providers. The latter are usually evaluated in terms of their outlays, physical measures of output and financial returns. Whether in fact their services are actually being utilised by the poor and whether they meet felt needs adequately are not often asked by most evaluators. Consequently, the outcomes and effectiveness of public investments are not always monitored or fully known.